T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E
TXK ROOTS Kurt Williams K urt Williams is the co-founder and CEO of Casino Cash Trac, a company dedicated to utilizing data to streamline operations, optimize decision making and prevent fraud for casino customers. Williams always had an entrepreneurial spirit. From a very young age, he organized various ventures with his friends, from mowing yards to cleaning office buildings. “Just about anything we could do at that age we attempted.” Williams, like many young people starting school, didn’t know what he wanted to do. “My dad was a CPA and started his own firm when he was just 25 years old. So, it seemed like a good place to start,” he said. Williams’ career track has been impressive. “I have been extremely lucky throughout my career with the opportunities that have been made available to me,” he said. Though he started out as a CPA with traditional work (tax returns and financial audits), he didn’t enjoy the work. However, he was lucky to have worked for a firm that had a strong business valuation and litigation support department. This gave him a chance to join that team, which redirected his career in a way that was much more suitable to him. Interestingly enough, business valuation and litigation support made up a relatively rare skill set in a growing niche. In 2005, Williams met his mentor, David Rhoades. Rhoades was the Managing Partner of Fraud and Forensic Investigations and Turnaround Professionals in Oklahoma City. Williams was ready for a new challenge and Rhoades wanted to open an office in Tulsa; the fit was perfect. “The work was exciting, and every day was educational,” he recalled. Starting out as a CPA and shifting into the role of co-founder of a major gaming company is a drastic non-lateral move. It was during his time in fraud and forensic investigations that Williams was engaged in fraud investigation for casinos. “It was a great way to learn the business. We evaluated every type of transaction and every control and traced them all back to the financials.” Williams enjoyed and learned a lot during that time, and it was through that labor of love and education that Casino Cash Trac was born. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Casino Cash Trac is the creator of Casino Insight, an award-winning suite of transactional, reporting, and analytical tools designed to streamline and automate (Casino’s) cage operations, revenue audit processes and operations analysis.” Since developing Casino Insight in 2012, Casino Cash Trac has helped over 170 casinos across multiple states maximize productivity and efficiency while minimizing paper waste and manual processes prone to human error. Williams enjoys being engaged directly with Casino Cash Trac’s customers and brings a hands-on approach to solving problems, developing strategies and processes that will help them advance towards operational excellence. photo by Doug Summers
What is your favorite Texarkana memory? I don’t know that I can think of one particular favorite, but I spent a lot of great days playing golf with friends and family at TCC, then stopping into Murphy’s to grab food. I was there so much that Teresa probably felt like she was raising me, too.” What was your favorite place to eat in Texarkana? Burgers at TLC and bread pudding at The Cobbler Shoppe Where was your favorite place to shop in Texarkana? Collins and Williams downtown Were you a Hawk, Leopard, Razorback or Tiger? I was a Razorback. The Texas/Arkansas games were always the favorite of the season. I loved how the whole town used to get involved. Back in the day, they would decorate half of State Line red and the other side orange. You had the Senior Parade the morning of the game where you would drive by Texas High yelling out the window and they would be sitting out on the lawn of the school yelling back. None of the faculty seemed to care; it was just expected. Who was someone from Texarkana who impacted your life? My parents. (That) may seem like a generic answer, but it’s true. Something my brother and I both got was a work ethic, and that was not by accident. My dad started his own CPA firm when he was still in his 20s and we got to see how much work it takes to be successful. After my mom helped him start the firm, she went to school while raising two boys and then started teaching. She recently retired after 30 years at Pleasant Grove. What do you love about Texarkana? Texarkana is great because it has that small-town feel and so many fun traditions… the big rivalry games, the fair and rodeo, the Christmas parade downtown... it was a nice place to grow up. What words do you live by? Be a man of your word.
TXK Roots is Texarkana Magazine ’s forum to highlight and honor Texarkana natives who have accomplished big things in the world. These folks may have relocated, but they took the values, education, work ethic and creativity instilled in them by growing up in this unique border city and used these qualities to blaze extraordinary trails. We asked them to share their thoughts about growing up here. No matter how far from Texarkana they may find themselves, we will always consider them our neighbors and we are proud to claim them as forever members of our extended Texarkana community. After all, “everyone is famous in their hometown!”
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